Absorbent personal care articles such as sanitary napkins, panty liners and incontinence pads commonly utilize a pair of wings or flaps which are used to help secure the article in place to the wearer's undergarments. Generally, the wings are folded around the outside of the wearer's undergarment and attach to the outside of the undergarment via adhesive or other fastening means. Once secured to the undergarment the wings help reduce the likelihood that the article will become dislodged and move out of position. Examples of such foldable wing fasteners are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,876 Van Tilberg; EP0511905B1 Pigneul; U.S. Pat. No. 5,401,268 Rodier; and EP1208823A1 Hohmann.
However, while wings of various size and shape have previously been used, there remain a number of drawbacks to these designs. First, many wings do not adequately prevent the article from bunching or twisting due to the stresses imparted on the article as the wearer moves. Second, misapplication of the article to the undergarment can also greatly increase the risk of leakage. In this regard, it can be difficult for wearers to place conventional wings properly onto their undergarment and when the wings are improperly fastened the absorbent article can be bunched or partially twisted as donned or more easily become twisted or bunched with the wearer's movement. Twisting of the article and/or the deformation of the article when worn can result in the article being at an angle relative to the wearer as opposed to being perpendicular to or flat against the wearer. When the article is sidewardly angled to the wearer the ability of the article to take in and absorb fluids can be reduced to an extent such that the article functions significantly less effectively than desired. Further, bunching of the article results in the article covering considerably less area under the vaginal region than desired. Thus, such unwanted twisting and bunching of the article can result in increased frequency of leakage and staining of the wearer's garments.
Thus, there exists a continued need for an absorbent personal care article having foldable wings that assist the wearer with proper placement and donning of the article. There further exists a need for such an article wherein the foldable wings also help maintain the article in an uncontorted and/or generally flap shape in order to minimize the incidence of leakage.